As young, emerging writers, it is vital for us to take chances, putting ourselves out there for the world to see our work. The internet provides potential for us to do so, with online contests, boards, and blogs that connect us with an international...

Do you remember when the theatrical show STOMP hit the scene in the early ‘90s and – suddenly – every advertisement had the same percussive stomping audio track? No matter whether it was cars or sports shoes (maybe even bathroom...

  I wasn’t too surprised when my publisher announced, after the copy edit had been complete, that she didn’t like my title, and she’d like to ask the copy editor to brainstorm a few ideas. I hadn’t been married to...

I need to start by saying that I have been a medical social worker for 40 years. That was how I viewed myself. That was my identity. The only writing I did was in hospital medical records. Until one day when I saw the family of my patient outside in...

I was on a coaching call recently with a memoirist who had just read through her whole manuscript after we finished her developmental edit, and she sheepishly brought up something that had surprised her. “I can’t believe how many...

In previous posts I've addressed my tendency to overuse certain words, phrases, or gestures, for example she bit her lip and she walked home slowly. To solve the problem I use the "find" option on Microsoft Word to catch...